Study: Skateboarders act stupider when girls are around.
There’s a study about skateboarders in Social Psychological and Personality Science, a new quarterly journal. Matt Palmquist writes for Miller-McCune about the somewhat obvious conclusions of the experiment.
Besides assuming that all skateboarders are dudes and that all of them are into women, the study tells us something we already knew: Guys often recklessly showboat to impress the opposite sex. Scientists measured the testosterone levels in skateboarders after performing a trick for a man; then they checked the levels after the athletes performed the same trick for a woman. Testosterone was significantly higher when women were watching.
From the study:
“This experiment provides evidence for an effect that has existed in art, mythology, and literature for thousands of years: Beautiful women lead men to throw caution to the wind,” write the authors of the study, Richard Ronay and William von Hippel.
It all apparently boils down to evolution. According to the scientists, our ancestors took risks to 1) impress potential mates and 2) scare off potential predators.
One commenter over at Miller-McCune sums up the study nicely: “Thanks for that riveting report, Captain Obvious.”
